Writers on the Front Range

Center for Adult Learning Student Wins Adult Learner of the Year Award

Robert Olson, a GED graduate of the Center for Adult Learning (CAL) at Front Range Community College, is the Adult Learner of the Year for the Colorado Adult Education Professional Organization (CAEPA).

CAEPA members represent adult education and family literacy programs throughout Colorado, including community and faith-based organizations, community colleges, school districts, corrections facilities, workforce districts, and libraries. CAEPA affiliates account for nearly 15,000 of Colorado’s learners each year.

Olson enrolled at CAL just before Valentine’s Day 2013, at the age of 25.

“He had just moved to Fort Collins and found a full-time job,” said Margie Wagner, coordinator of CAL. “He was a very serious young man, coming out of a difficult time in his life, and a little uncertain about his future.”

Olson said he was interested in self-improvement. Now with his GED, Olson is preparing to study computer information systems in college.

“When he started,” Wagner said, “his test scores were about average for a person who has been out of school for a while. He had some work to do. He enrolled in our evening GED classes four nights per week and never missed a class.

“By late April, his reading score had advanced three levels, his math scores were 12.9+, and he achieved a perfect score on the GED Practice Test in math. He passed the GED in May, just three months after entering our program.”

Olson is enrolled in CAL’s new College Prep course. He plans to enter FRCC in the spring of 2014 and start working toward a college degree.

CAL is located at FRCC’s Prospect Center, 1501 Academy Court, near Prospect and Timberline. The Center for Adult Learning in Loveland is at 565 N. Cleveland.

FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System, the state’s largest system of higher education. CCCS serves more than 162,000 students annually. The system oversees career and academic programs in the 13 state community colleges and career and technical programs in more than 160 school districts and six other post-secondary institutions.